Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Verizon 2014 consensus estimates have upside, says JefferiesJefferies sees upside to the 2014 consensus estimates for Verizon given the better than expected equipment installment plans market. The firm sees 17% upside to its year-end price target of $55 and it keeps a Buy rating on Verizon.

Spherix provides updates on litigation against VTech, Uniden, Verizon Spherix (SPEX) provided an update regarding Spherix v. VTech, Case No. 3:13-cv-03494-M and Spherix v. Uniden, Case No. 3:13-cv-03496-M, both in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and an update regarding Spherix v. Verizon, Case No. 1:14-cv-00721-GBL-TCB, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Concerning the company's cases against VTech and Uniden, on March 19, 2015, the honorable Barbara M. G. Lynn issued a 106-page claim construction order, following the Markman Hearing which had been held on November 21, 2014. The court's order creates various discovery deadlines under the scheduling order. Most notably, the order set deadlines for the close of both fact and expert discovery. Concerning the company's case against Verizon (VZ), the trial date has been rescheduled from May 18 to August 10 at the request of the Judge, who has rescheduled all trials for the month of May.

Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge to be available in U.S. beginning April 10Samsung Electronics America (SSNLF) announced the Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 edge will be available in the U.S. beginning April 10, with pre-orders starting March 27. In the U.S., the Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 edge will be available in Black Sapphire, White Pearl and Gold Platinum -- in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB2 memory options. AT&T (T), Sprint (S), T-Mobile (TMUS), U.S. Cellular (USM) and Verizon Wireless (VZ) will carry both the Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 edge, while Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless and MetroPCS will carry the Galaxy S 6. Samsung Experience Shops at Best Buy (BBY), as well as Amazon.com (AMZN), Costco Wholesale (COST), Sam’s Club (WMT), Target (TGT) and Walmart will also carry the Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 edge. Carriers and retailers will confirm specific pricing and availability.

T-Mobile announces 'Un-contract,' 'Carrier Freedom' initiativesToday, during an event held to announce Un-carrier 9.0 − Un-carrier for Business − T-Mobile (TMUS) unveiled two new major Un-carrier initiatives for consumers. First, with T-Mobile’s new "Un-contract," customers will now have more certainty in their wireless pricing than ever before. Consumers and businesses with the Simple Choice rate plan will find that rates won’t go up as long as they’re a T-Mobile customer and keep their plan − and even customers with unlimited 4G LTE will lock in their rates for a minimum of two years. The Un-carrier also launched "Carrier Freedom," a new move where T-Mobile will now cover all outstanding phone and tablet payments up to $650 per line when customers from AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) or Sprint (S) switch to T-Mobile.

Verizon may launch mobile TV service as soon as June, Bloomberg saysVerizon (VZ) has secured mobile television streaming rights with Viacom (VIA, VIAB) and DreamWorks Animation (DWA) and plans to start a mobile video streaming service as early as June, according to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter. Verizon plans to have programming from ABC (DIS), NBC (CMCSA), CBS (CBS) and Fox (FOXA) as part of the service, the report added. The Fly notes that Verizon has publicly confirmed previously that it plans to launch such a service, but has not provided many details to date.